Cabinet leg construction



May 14, 1968 A. R. COSTANTINI ET L CABINET LEG CONSTRUCTION Filed July5, 1966 ATTOIP/VEX United States Patent 3,383,079 CABINET LEGCONSTRUCTION Anthony R. Costantini, Lafayette Hill, and Anthony DiAngelus, Mauoa, Pa., assignors to Victory Metal Manufacturing Company,doing business as Victory Metal Manufacturing Corporation, PlymouthMeeting, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July 5, 1966, Ser. No.562,713 1 Claim. (Cl. 248--188.4)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A leg axially adjustable in length forsupporting relatively heavy structures, such as refrigerator cabinetsand the like, upon the floor, the top end of the leg having a flatmounting plate the upper surface of which is free of protuberances tofacilitate flush securement of the plate to the fiat bottom surface ofthe leg-supported structure. The leg and mounting are so interfitted asto prevent lateral shifting movement therebetween due to lateralstresses tending to tear the leg from the structure thereby. Therelatively adjustable parts of the leg present a substantially smoothunbroken external surface to obviate recesses in which dirt may becollected.

This invention relates generally to support leg constructions, and moreparticularly relates to cabinet legs intended for flush mounting on thebottom surface of a cabinet. The cabinet structure shown forillustrative purposes in the drawings may typically be a refrigeratingor warming cabinet, and as illustrated, the novel structure is shown inthe form of a levelling or adjustable height leg.

While, of course, cabinet legs are not themselves new, various problemshave been in the past experienced with different designs of legs,encompassing for example inadequate strength in the leg or leg mountingwith the application of heavy lateral stresses tending to tear off theleg at its point of securement with the cabinet. Strength can beprovided by the utilization of special conformations of the cabinetbottom and the use of buttresses and weldments for leg anchoring, butthese devices are generally unsightly or expensive in production. Insome cases the resultant support structure includes openings andrecesses which collect dirt and might therefore be unsuitable for use onfood handling or storage equipment. Accordingly, it is a primary objectof our invention to provide a novel cabinet leg construction of simpleyet exceedingly strong configuration which may be quickly and easilysecured to or removed from the underside of a cabinet which it isintended to support.

Another object of our invention is to provide a novel cabinet leg asaforesaid of such configuration that the upper end of the support legfits flush against the fiat bottom surface of a cabinet to which it isto be secured, the leg having a substantially smooth unbroken exteriorsurface characterized by the absence of any dirt collecting recesses.

The foregoing and other objects of our invention will become clear froma reading of the following specification in conjunction with examinationof the appended drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet supported by the legconstruction according to the invention, three of such legs beingvisible;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the leg according to theinvention showing the bolt securement of the leg to a fragment of theunderpart of the cabinet, one portion of the leg mounting structurebeing shown in vertical section;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical central longitudinal section through the legaccording to the invention as would be seen when viewed along the line33 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURES 4 and 5 are respectively the top and bottom plan views of theleg construction according to the invention as would be seen when viewedrespectively along the lines 44 and 55 of FIGURE 2.

In the several figures, like elements are denoted by like referencecharacters.

Briefly the novel leg construction includes a top mounting plate towhich is rigidly tab secured a fixed length hollow leg, which in theillustrated case is also provided with a cylindrical pad extendingpartly into and partly out of the hollow leg and adjustablelongitudinally thereof along a central support post fixedly secured tothe mounting plate.

Referring now to the figures, the novel leg construction according tothe invention is designated generally as and is shown in FIGURE 1 assecured to the bottom surface of a cabinet 11. The leg includes thesquare mounting plate 12, the hollow leg 13 and the cylindricaladjusting pad 14 shiftable longitudinally within limits into and out ofthe hollow leg 13 through the open bottom of the latter. The mountingplate 12 is provided at its four outer corners with mounting holes 15punched therethrough to pass the shanks of the mounting bolts 16,downwardly offset central recess 17, and four leg anchoring knock-outs18, each of which includes a rectangular open punch-out 19 and animmediately adjacent downwardly offset generally rectangular ledge 20,each of the four punch-outs 19 lying along the inside of a different legof a square while the adjacent ledges 20* lie along the outside of thesquare. Each downwardly offset ledge 20 is substantially coextensive inlength with and disposed immediately radially outward from itsassociated open punch-out 19. The downward offset of each ledge 29 fromthe upper surface 21 of the mounting plate 12 is less than the thicknessof the mounting plate so that the three bounding sides 22 of the ledge20 are closed surfaces continuously joining the ledge 20 with themounting plate 12.

As best seen from FIGURES l, 2 and 5, the hollow leg 13 is substantiallysquare in cross section at its upper end and transforms smoothly into acircular cross section at its lower end. As best seen from FIGURES 2, 3and 5, the size of the square defining the outside surface of the hollowleg 13 at the upper end is precisely the same as the square formed byextending to intersections the inner edges 23 of the downwardly offsetledges 20, so that the leg 13 seats against the underside of themounting plate 12 precisely within the confines of the ledges 20 whichthereby prevent relative lateral shifting movement between the leg andthe mounting plate. Extended longitudinally of the hollow leg 13 as acontinuation thereof from each of the four upper edges of the legforming the square upper end shape is a rectangular locking tab 24. Eachof the tabs 24 is placed so as to be projectable upward through one ofthe rectangular open punch-outs 19 in the mounting plate 12 and is of awidth substantially equal to but not greater than the width of thepunch-out 19 through which it is projected. Each such tab 24 is turnedlaterally outward and downward against the upper surface of theimmediately adjacent downwardly offset rectangular ledge 20, thethickness of the tab 24 being no greater than the dimension of thedownward offset of the ledge 20 so that the upper surfaces of the tabs24 do not extend above the plane of the upper surface of the mountingplate 12.

Frpm the showing of FIGURE 2 illustrating the securement of the mountingplate 12 flush against the underside of the cabinet bottom 25 bythreading of the mounting bolts 16 into the captive nuts 26 it isapparent that the locking tabs 24 of the hollow leg 13 are clampedbetween the plate 12 and the cabinet bottom 25 and cannot be unfoldedand pulled downward through the mounting plate punch-out apertures 19 byany force exterted laterally against the leg 13. This feature impartstremendous strength to the leg 13 and prevents the tearout problemswhich so often occur with the conventional types of leg structures. Asbest seen from FIGURE 3, the adjusting pad 14 is threadedly engaged on acentral longitudinally extending mounting post 27 which latter issecured at its upper end to the underside of the mounting plate 12 bymeans of a bolt 28, the head of the bolt 28 being seated in the centralrecess 17 of the mounting plate so that no part of it extends above themounting plate upper surface.

Having now described our invention in connection with a particularlyillustrated embodiment thereof it will be appreciated that modificationsand variations thereof may now occur from time to time to those personsnormally skilled in the art without departing from the essential scopeor spirit of our invention, and accordingly it is intended to claim thesame broadly as well as specifically as indicated by the appended claim.

What is claimed to be new and useful is:

1. A leg construction for securernent flush against the flatundersurface of a structure to be supported, comprising in combination,a mounting plate and a support leg secured to and depending therefrom,said support leg having an upper and a lower end, said upper end beingprovided about its periphery with a plurality of locking tabs extendingupward therefrom, said mounting plate having a generally planar uppersurface and being provided with an aperture therethrough for each ofsaid plurality of leg locking tabs so that the upper end of said leg maybe seated against the underside of said mounting plate with said leglocking tabs projected upward through said apertures, and said mountingplate upper surface being downwardly offset to provide immediatelyadjacent to each of said apertures a ledge of proper shape to havepressed downward and receive thereinto the leg locking tab projectedthrough the adjacent aperture, the downward oifset of each such ledgebeing substantially equal to the thickness of the material of said leglocking tab so that said tab does not extend above the plane of saidmounting plate upper surface, said leg being hollow and open at itslower end and said mounting plate upper surface being centrallydownwardly offset, a central support post extending longitudinallywithin said leg, said support post being immovably fixedly secured atits upper end to said mounting plate by means of a fastener projecteddownward through the said central downward offset of the mounting plate,and an adjustable leveling pad threadedly engaged upon the lower end ofsaid support post, said leveling pad extending outward through the openbottom of said leg and being shiftable longitudinally of said leg byscrew action on said support post.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,859,804 11/1958 Healy 248-188.8

CHANCELLO-R E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

